DOCSLIB.ORG

Forspjallsljóð * * (Prelude Poem) Odin's Raven Magic

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Forspjallsljóð * * (Prelude Poem) Odin's Raven Magic HRAFNAGALDUR ÓÐINS Compiled, edited and translated by Gunivortus Goos (GardenStone) Usingen, 2014 * * Forspjallsljóð * * (Prelude poem) Odin's raven magic Foreword All rights reserved; this publication as a whole may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author as long as that is done without any commercial aim. That applies too if parts of the publication are used and the authors are fully credited. Once again one of my smaller projects has reached its realization and can be ticked off - the (re) introduction of the poem or song with the Oldnorse name 'Hrafnagaldur Odin "(Odin's raven magic), also called Forspjallsljóð' (prelude poem). Have fun with it. Introduction Backgrounds The Hrafnagaldr Óðins (Odin's raven-magic), also called Forspjallsljóð (prelude poem) is an Icelandic poem, written in the style of the poems of the Poetic Edda. It has passed down only in paper manuscripts. In the edition of the Poetic Edda from 1867 the translator Sophus Bugge argued that the poem only was created in the 17th-Century. According to Bugge, it was composed as an introduction to the 'Baldrs draumar' poem. Since Bugge's argumentation it was not part anymore of editions of the Poetic Edda; before, it was added to the English Thorpe edition from 1866 and to the German Simrock edition from 1851. In 1886 the Swedish scholar and author Viktor Rydberg accepted the poem as authentic and sought to explain its narrative as referring to the time Idun was taken from Asgard by Thjazi. In 2002 the Icelandic scholar Jónas Kristjánsson published arguments that would point to a much earlier date of origin than Bugge proposed, the 13th or 14th Century was targeted. Kristjánsson based his view on linguistic evidence and on the apparently corrupt state of the left poem. Others disputed that with the argument that the metrical system of the poem would differ too much from the Eddic poems. At first, the scholar Annette Lassen saw the poem on the same level as the Svipdagsmál (Lay of Svipdagr) which contains the two poems Grógaldr (Spell of Gróa) and the Fjölsvinnsmál (Sayings of Fjölsvinnr) which also were discovered in the 17th Century but are considered by many related scholars as part of the Poetic Edda. Some years later Lassen revised her view and stated that the poem would be post medieval. One of her arguments was the use of the Middle Low German word 'máltíd', which would at earliest appear in the middle of the 14th Century – but she dates the poem later. According to analysis of the best manuscripts, the various copies all derive from a single archetype. Whether prior to the paper manuscript also a vellum manuscript existed, is unknown, but Árni Magnússon makes reference to the poem in a letter dated June 18, 1729 to Jón Halldórsson, Dean of Hítardalur, raising the possibility that such a vellum manuscript was lost in the Great Fire in Copenhagen of 1728, which destroyed a large part of Arni's library, including as many as 15 bound manuscripts of Eddic poetry. The letter reads, in a translation of William P. Reaves, as follows: "I had (which burned) blessed Reverend Ólafur's (our principal's) letter regarding one of these odes (I believe Hrafnagaldur Odins) a song that Magister Brynjólfur had allowed to be copied from one old, dirty leaf, and as I recall, he said that there was something missing at the end, and that it may have occurred in the same manner. This is all as if in a fog, the documents are gone." Obviously, the discussion whether the poem originate from the 13th or 14th Century or from the 16th or 17th Century has not come to a conclusive end yet. The contents in short The poem begins with five stanzas of ominous introduction, the narrative proper setting is in stanza 6. Idunn falls from the world-tree (stanzas 6-7) and is given a wolfskin to wear (stanza 8). Alarmed, Odin sends a trio of messengers led by Heimdall to get news from a woman designated as "the doorpost of Gjöll's sun" (Giallar sunnu gátt, a kenning for woman) (stanza 9). The identity of the woman that Heimdall and his companions visit in the lower world is not revealed. She has been variously identified as Idunn, Hela (Emil Doepler, 1881), and as Urd. The messengers ask her the beginning, duration and end of heaven, the world, and hel (stanza 11). Tears are her only response (stanzas 12-13). The failed messengers return to Asgard, joining a feast in progress (stanzas 14-15). Heimdall tells the gods of their mission; Loki informs the goddesses (stanzas 16-19). The festivities conclude (stanza 21), and the onset of night is described in mythological terms (stanzas 22-26). In the final verse, Heimdall lifts his horn toward heaven. Interest in the poem has been renewed after 1998, when Eysteinn Björnsson and William P. Reaves posted an edition of the poem with an English translation and commentary online. Only the English translation of this whole project is still online available. In 2005 the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós together with Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, and Steindór Andersen composed a choral and orchestral work 'Hrafnagaldur Óðins'. This introduction is based on theWikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Hrafnagaldr_Óðins The poem contains quite a few 'kennings' (Oldnorse poetical descriptions of names or terms). These are explained alongside the stanzas. The Poem Old Norse English 1 1 Alföður orkar, Allfather works, álfar skilja, elves understand, vanir vitu, vanir know, vísa nornir, norns reveal, elur íviðja, gives birth, íviðja :A troll wife or giantess aldir bera, men endure, þreyja þursar, thurses wait, þrá valkyrjur. valkyries yearn. 2 2 Ætlun æsir The Æsir suspected illa gátu, an evil scheme, veður villtu wights confounded vættar rúnum; the weather with magic; Óðhræris skyldi Urður was appointed Urður geyma, Óðhrærir's keeper, Urður: fate máttk at verja powerful to protect it mestum þorra. from the mightiest winter. 3 3 Hverfur því Hugur, Hugur then disappears Hugur: the raven Huginn? himna leitar, seeking the heavens, grunar guma men's ruin is suspected, grand ef dvelur; if he's delayed; þótti er Þráins Þráinn's thought Þráinn: name of a dwarf þunga draumur, is an opressive dream, Dáins dulu Dáinn's dream Dáinn: dwarf or elf name draumur þótti. was thought enigmatic. 4 4 Dugir með dvergum The dwarves' powers dvína, heimar dwindle, the worlds niður að Ginnungs sink down niði sökkva; towards Ginnung's abyss; oft Alsviður Often Alsviður Alsviður: Odin? ofan fellir, fells from above, oft of föllnum often he gathers aftur safnar. the fallen again. 5 5 Stendur æva Earth and Sun strind né röðull, cannot stand firm; lofti með lævi malignant winds linnir ei straumi; do not cease; mærum dylst hidden in the glorious í Mímis brunni well of Mímir vissa vera; lies all knowledge; vitið enn, eða hvað? know ye yet, or what? 6 6 Dvelur í dölum Dwells in dales dís forvitin, the curious dís, Yggdrasils frá from Yggdrasill's aski hnigin; ash descended; álfa ættar of elven kin, Iðunni hétu, Iðunn was her name, Ívalds eldri youngest of Ívald's yngsta barna. elder children. 7 7 Eirði illa Ill she endured ofankomu, the fall from above, hárbaðms undir under the hoar-tree's haldin meiði; trunk confined; kunni síst disliked staying að kundar Nörva, at Nörvi's daughter's, Nörvi's daughter: night vön að værri used to better vistum heima. abodes back home. 8 8 Sjá sigtívar The divinities see syrgja Naumu Nauma grieving viggjar að véum; in the wolf's home; Wolf's home: Yggdrasil vargsbelg seldu, given a wolf-skin, lét í færast, she clad herself therein, lyndi breytti, changed disposition, lék að lævísi, delighted in guile, litum skipti. shifted her shape. 9 9 Valdi Viðrir Viðrir selected Viðrir: Odin vörð Bifrastar Bifröst's guardian Bifröst's guardian: Heimdall Gjallar sunnu to inquire of gátt að frétta, the bearer of Gjöll's sun, bearer of Gjöll's sun: woman heims hvívetna whatever she knew hvert er vissi; of the world's affairs; Bragi og Loftur Bragi and Loftur Loftur: Loki báru kviðu. bore witness. 10 10 Galdur gólu, Sorcery they sang, göndum riðu, wolves they rode, Rögnir og Reginn Rögnir and Reginn, Rögnir: Odin að ranni heimis; against the world's house; hlustar Óðinn Óðinn listens Hliðskjálfu í; in Hliðskjálf; leit braut vera watched the travellers' langa vegu. distant journey. 11 11 Frá enn vitri The wise one asked veiga selju the server of mead, server of mead: woman banda burður scion of gods og brauta sinnar; and his road-companions, hlýrnis, heljar, if she knew the origin, heims ef vissi duration, and end ártíð, æfi, of heaven, of hel, aldurtila. of the world. 12 12 Né mun mælti, Her mind she spoke not, né mál knátti nor was Gefjun able Gefjun greiða, to utter a word, né glaum hjaldi; nor express any joy; tár af tíndust tears trickled, törgum hjarnar, from the skull's shields, skull's shields: eye holes eljunfaldin the mighty one endurrjóða. was bereft of power. 13 13 Eins kemur austan As from the East, úr Élivágum out of Élivágar, þorn af akri comes a thorn from the þurs hrímkalda, Field of the rime-cold giant, hveim drepur dróttir with which Dáinn Dáinn allar smites all men mæran of Miðgarð of glorious Midgard með nátt hverri. every night. 14 14 Dofna þá dáðir, Actions are numbed, detta hendur, the arms slump, svífur of svimi a swoon hovers over sverð áss hvíta; the white god's sword; white god's sword: head rennir örvit stupor dispels rýgjar glyggvi, the wind of the giantess, wind of the giantess: into the mind sefa sveiflum the mind's workings sókn gjörvallri.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nú Mun Hon Sökkvask
    Lauren Hamm Kt. 290191-5219 MA in Old Nordic Religions: Thesis Autumn 2019 Nú mun hon sökkvask: The Connection between Prophetic Magic and the Feminine in Old Nordic Religion Lauren Hamm Lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni trú Leiðbeinandi: Terry Gunnell Útskriftarmánuður: Október 2019 Lauren Hamm Kt. 290191-5219 MA in Old Nordic Religions: Thesis Autumn 2019 Nú mun hon sökkvask The Connection between Prophetic Magic and the Feminine in Old Nordic Religion Lauren Hamm Lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni trú Leiðbeinandi: Terry Gunnell Félags - og mannvísindadeild Félagsvísindasvið Háskóla Íslands Október 2019 Lauren Hamm Kt. 290191-5219 MA in Old Nordic Religions: Thesis Autumn 2019 Nú mun hon sökkvask: The Connection between Prophetic Magic and the Feminine in Old Nordic Religion Ritgerð þessi er lokaverkefni til MA – gráðu í Norrænni trú og er óheimilt að afrita ritgerðina á nokkurn hátt nema með leyfi rétthafa. © Lauren Hamm, 2019 Prentun: Háskólaprent Reykjavík, Ísland, 2019 Lauren Hamm Kt. 290191-5219 MA in Old Nordic Religions: Thesis Autumn 2019 Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible if it were not for the endless kindness and patience of my thesis advisor, Dr. Terry Gunnell. I truly do not have words eloquent enough to iterate how very much he deeply cares about his work and the work of his students nor how much this meant to me personally. The year of waking up to 6:00 AM skype meetings every Tuesday with Terry provided a gentle reminder of my duties and passion for this topic as well as a sense of stability and purpose I badly needed during a tumultuous time in my life.
    [Show full text]
  • Nordic Magic Healing 1:Healing Galdr, Healing Runes
    Nordic Magic Healing 1:Healing galdr, healing runes Yves Kodratoff Universal Publishers USA • 2003 Nordic Magic Healing: 1:Healing galdr, healing runes Copyright © 2003 Yves Kodratoff All rights reserved. Universal Publishers/uPUBLISH.com USA • 2003 ISBN: 1-58112-573-9 www.uPUBLISH.com/books/kodratoff.htm Nordic Magic Healing Nordic Magic Healing is made of three books. Book 1: Healing galdr, healing runes Book 2: Screaming, I gathered them Book 3: Hand healing, Shiatsu and Seið: a spiritual journey These books illustrate my deep belief that healing must harmoniously merge rationalism and mysticism. Nordic Heathen magic and Shiatsu are very good examples of such a merger. Our primitive being is hidden but ever present in our life, showing its demands in very strange and unexpected ways. We have to recognize and to heal the wounds that this primitive part of ourselves bears. That is what I call ‘healing magic’: it relies on deep superstitions and magical techniques. These books share my experience in healing using galdr, runes, and shiatsu. They present a new healing technique that incorporates both the Japanese and Nordic approaches. Although they are far from each other physically, they are quite close in spirit. Acknowledgments Thanks and love to Lise Fontaine for her comments and questions which helped me so much in making this final version more precise than any original I have been writing. 2 Table of Contents The cover of this volume shows the tree of the world, Yggdrasil, “High tree, splattered with white mud” as I naively see it - many colored - through the prism of my eyes.
    [Show full text]
  • Gylfaginning Codex Regius, F
    Snorri Sturluson Edda Prologue and Gylfaginning Codex Regius, f. 7v (reduced) (see pp. 26/34–28/1) Snorri Sturluson Edda Prologue and Gylfaginning Edited by ANTHONY FAULKES SECOND EDITION VIKING SOCIETY FOR NORTHERN RESEARCH UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON 2005 © Anthony Faulkes 1982/2005 Second Edition 2005 First published by Oxford University Press in 1982 Reissued by Viking Society for Northern Research 1988, 2000 Reprinted 2011 ISBN 978 0 903521 64 2 Printed by Short Run Press Limited, Exeter Contents Codex Regius, fol. 7v ..........................................................Frontispiece Abbreviated references ....................................................................... vii Introduction ..........................................................................................xi Synopsis ..........................................................................................xi The author ..................................................................................... xii The title ....................................................................................... xvii The contents of Snorri’s Edda ................................................... xviii Models and sources ........................................................................ xx Manuscripts .............................................................................. xxviii Bibliography ...............................................................................xxxi Text .......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Editing of Eddic Poetry Judy Quinn
    A HANDBOOK TO EDDIC POETRY This is the first comprehensive and accessible survey in English of Old Norse eddic poetry: a remarkable body of literature rooted in the Viking Age, which is a critical source for the study of early Scandinavian myths, poetics, culture, and society. Dramatically recreating the voices of the legendary past, eddic poems distil moments of high emotion as human heroes and supernatural beings alike grapple with betrayal, loyalty, mortality, and love. These poems relate the most famous deeds of gods such as Óðinn and Þórr with their adversaries the giants; they bring to life the often fraught interactions between kings, queens, and heroes as well as their encounters with valkyries, elves, dragons, and dwarfs. Written by leading international scholars, the chapters in this volume showcase the poetic riches of the eddic corpus and reveal its relevance to the history of poetics, gender studies, pre-Christian religions, art history, and archaeology. carolyne larrington is Official Fellow and Tutor at St John’s College, University of Oxford. judy quinn is Reader in Old Norse Literature in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge. brittany schorn is a Research Associate in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge. A HANDBOOK TO EDDIC POETRY Myths and Legends of Early Scandinavia CAROLYNE LARRINGTON University of Oxford JUDY QUINN University of Cambridge BRITTANY SCHORN University of Cambridge University Printing House, Cambridge cb2 8bs, United Kingdom Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
    [Show full text]
  • Skaldic Slam: Performance Poetry in the Norwegian Royal Court
    Lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni trú Félagsvísindasvið Skaldic Slam: Performance Poetry in the Norwegian Royal Court Anna Millward Leiðbeinandi: Terry Gunnell Félags- og mannvísindadeild Félagsvísindasvið Háskóla Íslands December 2014 Norrænn trú Félags- og mannvísindadeild 1 Anna Millward MA in Old Nordic Religions: Thesis MA Kennitala: 150690-3749 Winter 2014 DEDICATION AND DISCLAIMER I owe special thanks to Prof. Terry Gunnell for his continued encouragement, help and enthusiasm throughout the process of researching and writing this dissertation. Many of the ideas put forward in this dissertation are borne out of interesting conversations and discussions with Prof. Gunnell, whose own work inspired me to take up this subject in the first place. It is through Prof. Gunnell’s unwavering support that this thesis came into being and, needless to say, any mistakes or errors are mine entirely. Ritgerð þessi er lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni Trú og er óheimilt að afrita ritgerðina á nokkurn hátt nema með leyfi rétthafa. © Anna Millward, 2014 Reykjavík, Ísland 2014 2 Anna Millward MA in Old Nordic Religions: Thesis MA Kennitala: 150690-3749 Winter 2014 CONTENTS Introduction pp. 5-13 Chapter 1. Skálds, Scholar, and the Problem of the Pen 1.1. What is Skaldic Poetry? pp. 14-15 1.2. Form and Function pp. 15-22 1.3. Preservation Context pp. 22-24 1.4. Scholarly Approaches to Skaldic Verse p. 25 1.5. Skaldic Scholarship: post-1970s pp. 26-31 1.6. Early Skaldic Scholarship: pre-1970s pp. 31-36 1.7. Skaldic as Oral Poetry, Oral Poetry as Performance pp. 36-43 1.8.
    [Show full text]
  • Progression and Return in Västanå Theatre’S Retelling of the Edda (2019)
    Progression and Return in Västanå Theatre’s Retelling of the Edda (2019) Anna Swärdh, Stockholm University, Sweden Abstract In 2019, Västanå Theatre staged Jon Fosse’s Edda, a theatrical adaptation of myths from the Poetic Edda. This essay focuses on a number of formal devices used to adapt the Norse myths at Västanå, the dumb show convention perhaps offering the most stylized form of expression of these. The essay shows how the production helped the audience negotiate between a linear and a circular understanding of time, through formal and structural means: staging, selection and ordering of episodes signalled a strong initial focus on the inevitability of Ragnarök, while circularity and return were highlighted through the ending in which the world was reborn, but also through other features that stressed repetition and retelling. The essay argues that the dumb show convention could be taken as emblematic of the production’s negotiation between the two timelines, but it also shows how the device helped adapt female characters into more powerful agents, how it added hope in the form of young love, and how it functioned to draw attention to narration, words, and poetry. Keywords: Jon Fosse; Edda; Poetic Edda; Västanå Theatre (Västanå Teater); adaptation; dumb show It has been suggested that the dumb show—‘a passage of silently mimed action’ (Dobson 2013: 398)—is ‘no longer a meaningful theatrical convention’ (Lopez 2017: 305), but Västanå Theatre’s (Västanå Teater) 2019 production of the Edda showed that it is a device that can still be
    [Show full text]
  • Grettis Saga
    Durham E-Theses Engi maðr skapar sik sjálfr: Individual agency and the communal creation of outsiders in Íslendingasögur outlaw narratives WILSON, ALEXANDER,JAMES How to cite: WILSON, ALEXANDER,JAMES (2017) Engi maðr skapar sik sjálfr: Individual agency and the communal creation of outsiders in Íslendingasögur outlaw narratives, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12627/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Engi maðr skapar sik sjálfr: Individual Agency and the Communal Creation of Outsiders in Íslendingasögur Outlaw Narratives Alexander James Wilson Abstract. This thesis examines how Íslendingasögur outlaw narratives engage with socio-political concepts of community and the individual. It demonstrates that the sagas discussed share key anxieties over the deep structural problems in society, which are shown to restrict the individual agency of their protagonists, a restriction that motivates the transgressive behaviour of these individuals.
    [Show full text]
  • Gripla XVII (2006):7–35
    GRI EFNI P LA GRIPLA Jónas Kristjánsson: Kveðskapur Egils Skallagrímssonar XVII Haraldur Bernharðsson: XVII Göróttur er drykkurinn. Fornmálsorð í nútímabúningi Kristján Árnason: Um Háttatal Snorra Sturlusonar. Bragform og braglýsing Kári Gíslason: Reading for Saga Authorship. A Character-based Approach Þorleifur Hauksson: Grýla Karls ábóta Gísli Brynjólfsson: Þýðingar úr fornensku. Fyrri hluti: Frá Abgarus konungi. Sigurjón Páll Ísaksson bjó til prentunar Sigurgeir Steingrímsson: Stefán Karlsson Ritaskrá Stefáns Karlssonar. Guðvarður Már Gunnlaugsson og Sigurgeir Steingrímsson tóku saman Sverrir Tómasson: Magnús Már Lárusson Kristján Eiríksson: Ögmundur Helgason ISBN 978-9979-819-96-7 REYKJAVÍK STOFNUN ÁRNA MAGNÚSSONAR 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 6 Forsíðumyndin er úr Heynesbók, AM 147 4to, bl. 63 r, Jónsbókarhandriti frá fyrri helmingi 16. aldar. Útlit: Ritstjórn – Kristinn Gunnarsson Gripla SAUTJÁN- 22.06 -A 25.6.2007 15:17 Page 1 GRIPLA Gripla SAUTJÁN- 22.06 -A 25.6.2007 15:17 Page 2 Ráðgjafar BERGLJÓT S. KRISTJÁNSDÓTTIR • ROBERT COOK • DAVÍð ERLINGSSON EINAR G. PÉTURSSON • JÜRG GLAUSER • GUðRÚN ÁSA GRÍMSDÓTTIR GUðRÚN NORDAL • GUðVA R ður M. gunnlaugsson • KARL G. JOHANSSON JÓNAS KRISTJÁNSSON • MARIANNE KALINKE • KJARTAN OTTOSSON ÓLAFUR HALLDÓRSSON • SIGURGEIR STEINGRÍMSSON SVANHILDUR ÓSKARSDÓTTIR • TORFI H.TULINIUS VÉSTEINN ÓLASON • ANDREW WAWN Gripla er alþjóðlegur vettvangur fyrir rannsóknir á sviði íslenskra og norrænna fræða. Birtar eru útgáfur á stuttum textum, greinar og ritgerðir og stuttar fræðilegar athugasemdir. Greinar skulu að jafnaði skrifaðar á íslensku en einnig eru birtar greinar á öðrum norrænum málum, ensku, þýsku og frönsku. Leiðbeiningar um frágang handrita er að finna í 10. bindi (1998) á bls. 269-278 en þær má einnig nálgast hjá ritstjórum. Allt efni sem birtast á er lesið yfir af sérfræðingum.
    [Show full text]
  • The 15Th International Saga Conference Sagas and the Use of the Past 5Th –11Th August 2012, Aarhus University Preprint of Abstracts
    The 15th International Saga Conference Sagas and the Use of the Past 5th –11th August 2012, Aarhus University Preprint of Abstracts Edited by A. Mathias Valentin Nordvig and Lisbeth H. Torfing with Pernille Hermann, Jens Peter Schjødt and Ulla Loumand Sponsored by: A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal; 15. juni Fonden; Forskningsrådet for Kultur og Kommuni- kation (FKK); Kungl. Gustav Adolfs Akademien för svensk folkkultur; Letterstedtska Föreningen; Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University; The De- partment of Aesthetics and Communication, Aarhus University; The Department of Culture and Society, Aarhus University; Salling; Bryg- geriet Sct. Clemens. MB Published by Department of Aesthetics and Communication Department of Culture and Society Faculty of Arts SUN-Tryk Fællestrykkeriet for Sundhedsvidenskab og Humaniora, Aarhus Universitet All rights reserved. Copyright © 2012, the Contributors. ISBN: 978-87-995444-0-0 http://sagaconference.au.dk/fileadmin/sagaconference/Pre-print.pdf The cover image is the so-called “Aarhus Mask”, a depiction on a ru- nestone found in the district of Hasle in Aarhus. It has been dated to the period 970-1020. Design by Nichlas Tougaard, Det Nye Sort. Preface The theme of the 15th International Saga Conference, the 5th to the 11th of August, 2012, Aarhus University, is Sagas and the Use of the Past. Papers at the conference will be presented in one of the following categories: Memory and Fiction, Myth and Reality, Textuality and Manuscript Transmission, Genre and Concepts of History, Oral Tradi- tion, The Christianisation of Denmark and Eastern Scandinavia, The Use of Sagas and Eddas in the 21st Century and Open Session Apart from the keynote lectures, orally-presented papers are organized in up to 6 parallel sessions on each day of the conference, in addition to which there are poster presentations, which are presented on Thursday afternoon.
    [Show full text]
  • Handbook for the Deceased: Re-Evaluating Literature and Folklore
    HANDBOOK FOR THE DECEASED: RE-EVALUATING LITERATURE AND FOLKLORE IN ICELANDIC ARCHAEOLOGY by BRENDA PREHAL A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York. 2021 © 2020 BRENDA PREHAL All rights reserved. ii Handbook for the Deceased: Re-evaluating Literature and Folklore in Icelandic Archaeology by Brenda Prehal This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date Thomas McGovern Chair of Examining Committee Date Jeff Maskovsky Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Timothy Pugh Astrid Ogilvie Adolf Frðriksson THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Handbook for the Deceased: Re-Evaluating Literature and Folklore in Icelandic Archaeology by Brenda Prehal Advisor: Thomas McGovern The rich medieval Icelandic literary record, comprised of mythology, sagas, poetry, law codes and post-medieval folklore, has provided invaluable source material for previous generations of scholars attempting to reconstruct a pagan Scandinavian Viking Age worldview. In modern Icelandic archaeology, however, the Icelandic literary record, apart from official documents such as censuses, has not been considered a viable source for interpretation since the early 20th century. Although the Icelandic corpus is problematic in several ways, it is a source that should be used in Icelandic archaeological interpretation, if used properly with source criticism. This dissertation aims to advance Icelandic archaeological theory by reintegrating the medieval and post-medieval Icelandic literary corpus back into archaeological interpretation. The literature can help archaeologists working in Iceland to find pagan religious themes that span time and place.
    [Show full text]
  • Healing Hands and Magical Spells
    Healing hands and magical spells Britt-Mari Nasstrom Göteborgs universitet Sigrdrifa’s invocation Long I slept, long was I sleeping long are the woes of men Odin brought it about that I could not break the spell of drowsiness The valkyrie Sigrdrifa addresses Sigurd Fafnesbani with these words after he has wakened her from her sleep on Hindarfjell. Sigrdrifa is better known under another name, Brynhild, and her magic sleep was a punishment of Odin, her father according to the prose version of the story. She had disobeyed her father’s will and he stung her with a magical thorn, which made her sleep. Odin put a shield-wall around her and stated that no one who was acquainted with fear could pass this and wake her up. Sigurd Fafnisbani heard this story from the deadly wounded dragon and headed towards Hindarfjel for the maiden. His meeting with the valkyrie is told in Sigrdrífumál, belonging to the Eddic poems and the cycle of the Völsungar. After that she invokes the gods and the mighty fecund earth and beseeches them of “eloquence and native wit and healing hands”, not only for herself but 356 11th International Saga Conference 357 also for Sigurd, the one who never was acquainted with fear and whom she now is expecting to marry. The healing hands are completed with knowledge of magical power, spells and favourable letters, good charms and joyful runes. Sigrdrifa furthermore tells that the runes should be cut on the hands and marked on the nails in order to beguile a wife. Others were victory-runes cut on the sword, others to calm the sea; there were speech-runes, mind-runes and book- runes, which at the first glance would have very little to do with healing.
    [Show full text]
  • Vçrôr and Gandr: Helping Spirits in Norse Magic 59
    CLIVE TOLLEY Vçrôr and Gandr : Helping Spirits in Norse Magic The Vçrôr The Background inSeiðr Seidr is the distinctive term for certain Old Norse magic practices, attributed to both gods and men.1 The earliest reference in skaldic verse to seiðr is in Kormákr’s Sigurðardrápa, c. 960; it is also men­ tioned in the Eddie Ls and Vsp.2 Prose works such as the 13th century Heimskringla and Eiriks saga, and several of the 14th century fomaldar- sggur, present instances of the practice.3 References to texts are to page, or in the case of poetry to stanza numbers. I use the abbreviations of Neckel and Kuhn for Eddie poems (Gg,Grm, Hdl, Hrbl, Ls, Vsp), and the following for other texts: ANF Arkiv för nordisk filologi APhS Acta Philologica Scandinavica AR Altgermanische Religionsgeschich te (J. de Vries) Fit Flateyjarbók FSNL Fomaldarsögur Norâurlanda Hkr Heimskringla HN Historia Norvegiae ÍF islenzk Fomrit KLNM Kulturhistorisk Leksikon for Nordisk Middelalder MM M aal og Minne Skj Skjaldedigtning (ed. Finnur Jönsson) SnE Snorri’s Edda (ed. Finnur Jönsson) 1 The most complete study of seidr remains that of Strömbäck, published in 1935. Strömbäck's work leaves many gaps, however. I have consideredseidr and its parallels with shamanism in ch. 5 of my doctoral thesis (Tolley 1993). 2 Much archaic material is used in these poems, indicating their early date; see Dronke 1989, 106-8. 3 The sources are surveyed by Strömbäck 1935, 17-107; they include: skaldic: Sigurðardrápa, and probably Ynglingatal (seidr is m entioned in Ynglinga saga in Snorri’s prose summary of stanzas he does not cite); Eddie: Ls, Vsp, H dl; family sagas (13th century): Laxdæla saga, Vatnsdcela saga, Kormaks saga, Eiriks saga; other 13th century: Landnámabók, Hkr; fomaldarsçgur (late 13th-14th century): Hrólfs saga kraka, Noma Gests þáttr, Fridþjófs saga, Qrvar Odds saga, Þáttr Orms Stóróljssonar, Gçngu Hrólfs saga, Sçgubrot, Sturlaugs saga starfsama, Vçlsunga saga, Halfdanar saga Brçnufôstra, Diàriks saga.
    [Show full text]